This past week, I had the opportunity to visit Fort Garrison Elementary School to see 2nd grade and Kindergarten art classes!
When the 2nd graders came into the classroom, they were directed to sit in the middle of a colorful 6×4 rug in the middle of the room. There, the teacher, Ms. Hulse, reviewed with the students the activities for the day: glazing their ceramic sculptures! She did an informal pre-assessment reviewing material about ceramics: no glaze on the bottom, the fired pieces will break if dropped, etc. Her voice was naturally soothing and soft; the children really listened! She called the names on the bottom of the ceramic pieces and they stood up to collect it and go back to their seats. She asked 2 students to help set up glazing pots. They worked for most of the class. At one point when she wanted to clam the class, she turned off the lights briefly. The clean up procedure was interesting: the painted pots were put on a cafeteria tray at the table, and then all the students received a wet wipe. After cleaning their hands they wiped off their tables.
For the kindergarteners, they also came in and immediately sat on the rug, but their instruction was slightly different since they were starting a new project: they were drawing and painting daffodils! Earlier that morning, Ms. Hulse had picked daffodils and now a few bloomed in a vase at each of the tables. With a daffodil in her hand, she asked the students to identify the shapes and parts of the flower: stem, ruffles, bowl, leaf, etc. She then had the students move aside so she could demonstrate in the middle of the rug how to look and draw a daffodil with chalk, and then fill in the flowers with tempera paint. I appreciated how she used the rug as a “fishbowl” instructional area, bringing the content down to the children’s physical level. Also, bringing in a natural element into the classroom (a blooming seasonal flower) was a great way to bring introduce observational drawing. In total, the introduction and demonstration only took 15 minutes. The students then got up, got a sheet of paper and a piece of chalk and the art began. For their signal to stop working, Ms. Hulse chimed a bell. After they finished painting, they put their art on the drying rack and did the same wet wipe cleanup as the earlier class.
Note: I don’t know how I feel about this, but when she was having the students move, she did it a very disciplined way, explicitly naming the students and directing where and when they could move their bodies. I understand it was to help the flow of the class and optimize time, but it seemed rigid and controlling to me. Also, I noticed that the kids got supplies from a variety of different places. Perhaps if the supplies were pre-arranged in the middle of the room and accessible for students, it would help the flow of traffic in the room.
This semester has been crazy busy, and this has not been my first classroom observation (sorry I haven’t been able to write about them more!) However, it’s important to reflect on these visits and experiences because I always learn so much by watching expert teachers in actions! Stay tuned for another post soon about another school visit!
MONICA HEISER 